Rethink Charity

Powering High-Impact Charitable Projects

Local Effective Altruism Network

The Local Effective Altruism Network (LEAN) supports local groups working to bring effective altruism to a wider audience, and runs the EA Hub, aiming to enable and inspire collaboration within the EA movement by providing guidance based on empirical analysis, and making it easier for people to network, and work together on promising initiatives.

• Local groups appear to be a primary source of converting EAs - A majority (>53%) of members found local groups to be a ‘’large’ to ‘very large’ factor for their involvement in EA.

• LEAN is among the most useful organizations to the operation of local groups - group organizers found CEA most useful (39), followed by LEAN (22) and the Effective Altruism Foundation (22).

• Local groups estimated counterfactual fundraising - $51,495.36 moved to effective charities in 2017, and $806,832.93 in influenced personal donations.

• Strong demand for support from local groups >90% rated practical support and ideas for group activities useful or very useful and almost 80% rated personal feedback and support via social media, email and video call as useful or very useful

• Counterfactually discounted value of a medium group is estimated by .impact as $250,000 – $1,500,000.

• Counterfactually discounted value of a large group is estimated by .impact as $1,000,000 – $3,000,000.

• LEAN seeded ~158 groups.

We’re revamping LEAN in response to community feedback. Matching community demand will require meaningful investment in local groups, and a strategic revision of important services provided by LEAN.

Informed by the 2017 LEAN Impact Assessment, the most in-depth data collection and analysis of local EA groups to date, our 2018 plans address crucial gaps in grassroots support for local groups.

"Rethink Charity" is not represented by a single organization, but by several non-profit organizations in various countries, including Rethink Charity USA (EIN# 82-5325150) and the Students for High-Impact Charity Foundation of Canada (BN 75152 2293 RC0001). Rethink Charity also receives support from Effective Altruism UK (charity number 1170614).